WEST VIRGINIA CODE

(a) Any owner of a motor vehicle, subject to this article, who
fails to have the required security in effect at the time such
vehicle is registered or being operated upon the roads or highways
shall have his or her driver's license suspended by the
Commissioner of the Division of Motor Vehicles and shall have his
or her motor vehicle registration revoked as follows:

(1) For the first offense, the commissioner shall suspend the
driver's license for thirty days and until such time as he or she
presents current proof of insurance on all currently registered
vehicles: Provided, That if an owner complies with this
subdivision, and pays a penalty fee of $200 before the effective
date, the driver's license suspension of thirty days may not be
imposed and the vehicle registration revocation may not be imposed
and no reinstatement fees are required. Any fees collected under
the provisions of this subsection shall be deposited in the Motor
Vehicle Fees Fund established in accordance with section twenty-
one, article two, chapter seventeen-a of this code.

(2) For the second or subsequent offense within five years,
the commissioner shall suspend the owner's driver's license for a
period of ninety days and shall revoke the owner's vehicle
registration until he or she presents to the Division of Motor
Vehicles the proof of security required by this article.

(3) If the motor vehicle is titled and registered in more than
one name, the commissioner shall suspend the driver's license of
only one of the owners.

(b) Any person who is not the vehicle owner and is convicted
of operating a motor vehicle upon the roads or highways of this
state which does not have the security required by this article
shall have the conviction placed on his or her driver's license
record.

(c) The division may not suspend or revoke a driver's license
under this article for any citation of driving without insurance
that is received by the division from a court that is more than one
year from the date of the offense.

(d) The commissioner may withdraw a suspension of a driver's
license or revocation of a motor vehicle registration and refund
any penalty or reinstatement fees at any time provided that the
commissioner is satisfied that there was not a violation of the
provisions of required security related to operation of a motor
vehicle upon the roads or highways of this state by such person.
The commissioner may request additional information as needed in
order to make such determination.

(e) A person may not have his or her driver's license
suspended or motor vehicle registration revoked under this section
unless he or she and any lienholder noted on the certificate of
title are first given written notice of such suspension or revocation sent by certified mail, at least thirty days prior to
the effective date of such suspension or revocation, and upon that
person's written request, he or she shall be afforded an
opportunity for a hearing thereupon as well as a stay of the
commissioner's order of suspension or revocation and an opportunity
for judicial review of such hearing. The request for a hearing
shall be made within ten days from the date of receipt of the
notice of driver's license suspension or motor vehicle registration
revocation. The scope of the hearing is limited to questions of
identity or whether or not there was insurance in effect at the
time of the event causing the commissioner's action. Upon
affirmation of the commissioner's order, the period of suspension,
revocation or other penalty commences to run.

(f) A suspended driver's license is reinstated following the
period of suspension upon compliance with the conditions set forth
in this article and a revoked motor vehicle registration is
reissued only upon lawful compliance with this article.

(g) Revocation of a motor vehicle registration pursuant to
this section does not affect the perfection or priority of a lien
or security interest attaching to the motor vehicle that is noted
on the certificate of title to the motor vehicle.

(h) Any owner or driver of a motor vehicle determined by an
electronic insurance verification program to be uninsured shall be
assessed the same criminal and administrative sanctions prescribed in this chapter subject to the following:

(1) Any person who is assessed a penalty prescribed by this
section has the same procedural due process provided by this
chapter or by rules promulgated by the division to show that there
was not a violation and provide for the exoneration of any
penalties or records; and

(2) The commissioner may accept a binder, an identification
card or a declaration page from a policy as evidence of insurance
pending electronic verification to stay a pending administrative
sanction.

Note: WV Code updated with legislation passed through the 2016 Regular Session
The West Virginia Code Online is an unofficial copy of the annotated WV Code, provided as a convenience. It has NOT been edited for publication, and is not in any way official or authoritative.